China to issue commemorative coins on auspicious culture

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank will issue a set of commemorative coins featuring Chinese auspicious culture, including two heart-shaped coins.

The People's Bank of China announced that the set of seven coins will be available for sale on May 20, a date widely dubbed romantic for its phonetic resemblance to "I love you" in the Chinese language.

The coins are all legal tender, with three made of gold and the other four of silver.

The Chinese characters Jixiang, meaning auspiciousness, are displayed on the face of the coins, while the reverse sides are decorated with traditional patterns such as deers, calabashes and peonies, all symbols of good fortune and well-being.

Both of the two heart-shaped coins feature Chinese dragons and phoenixes on the reverse side. The coin made of 3 grams of pure gold has a face value of 50 yuan (about 7.36 U.S. dollars) and is issued in the maximum quantity of 20,000. The other made of 30 grams of pure silver is 10 yuan in denomination and issued by up to 50,000 units.